Just need recommendations for good PC DVD+/-RW recorder drive

[siluet]

Just need recommendations for good DVD+/-RW Recorder Drive for my PC. BENQ DW1655 isn't available at our retailers.

[pepegot1]

Plextor 760A. It cost more but it is worth it. I had a DVD that could not be read by my Liteon DVD ROM Drive, but the Plextor 760A read it just fine. The Plextor Tools are also very good. There is nothing wrong with my DVD ROM drive, as it passes all tests and works normally with all other DVD media. Plus, it is fast as hell!!

[waheed]

Id recommend Pioneer. Why pay more for a drive that performs the same.

I also have a Liteon DVD Rom drive which cant read certain dvds, but my Pioneer has no problem with them. My DVD Rom passes all test also, I guess Lite On drives aren't very good readers.

[normcar]

I purchase a Plextor a while back. Had nothing but problems trying to get it to work. Took it back after reading about the problems others here had with the same drive. Got a Benq, and have no problems with my 3 Benqs since I got them.

What brands are Benqs sold under now. If someone is able to tell us, I would still buy the Benq brand (even under another name). You don't have to void the warrantee to Bit set.

[budz]

There are rebadged BENQ 1650 drives sold at COMPUSA under the brand names "NORWOOD MICRO" & CONNECT COMPUTERS". The box and the sticker on the drives says "BENQ DW1650".

If you can't find any BENQ drives because they're becoming scarce then get the PIONEER 111D from a online retailer. If you have a BEST BUY in your town then get the PIONEER 710 which is the retail version of the PIONEER 111D drive.

[KBeee]

There are rebadged BENQ 1650 drives sold at COMPUSA under the brand names "NORWOOD MICRO" & CONNECT COMPUTERS". The box and the sticker on the drives says "BENQ DW1650".

If you can't find any BENQ drives because they're becoming scarce then get the PIONEER 111D from a online retailer. If you have a BEST BUY in your town then get the PIONEER 710 which is the retail version of the PIONEER 111D drive.

As the OP is in Europe, he/she is unlikely to have a CompUSA or Best Buy locally.

I've been very happy with 2 NEC 4550's for the last 6 months or so. They were released only in Europe, and are 4551's without the labelflash capability. The updated model is the NEC 4570, available for about £22.

[budz]

There are rebadged BENQ 1650 drives sold at COMPUSA under the brand names "NORWOOD MICRO" & CONNECT COMPUTERS". The box and the sticker on the drives says "BENQ DW1650".

If you can't find any BENQ drives because they're becoming scarce then get the PIONEER 111D from a online retailer. If you have a BEST BUY in your town then get the PIONEER 710 which is the retail version of the PIONEER 111D drive.

As the OP is in Europe, he/she is unlikely to have a CompUSA or Best Buy locally.

I've been very happy with 2 NEC 4550's for the last 6 months or so. They were released only in Europe, and are 4551's without the labelflash capability. The updated model is the NEC 4570, available for about £22.

My post was directed at normcar and not to the original poster who's in Europe. :P

[wheezer210]

NEC gets my vote, I have 4 of them and all have worked without a hitch...

[lordsmurf]

Pioneer, NEC, LG or LiteOn

[erbuk]

I have been playing around with the new Optiarc AD-5170 (Optiarc = Sony Nec) this week and I'm very impressed. Definitely the best burner I've ever had and I have had a few. If you want DVD-Ram you have the AD-7173 or 7170 (I have just placed an order for a 7173).

[how786]

I'm wondering if anyone here has actually tested what the burner produces looking for errors etc?
I, too, need a new DVD/CD burner.
Thanks
How786

[erbuk]

I base my recommendation for the Optiarc (among other things) on disc quality scans on 7 different discs so yes, I would say that I have.

It's very hard to compare different burners since they perform differently on different discs (I obviusly like the word different ). But the Optiarc has produced very good burns on all the discs I have tried so far. The only other writer that comes close is the LG H10.

I should add that I never burn cd-rs and don't bother about special features like bitsetting, mount rainer and others. So if you need things like that you shouldn't listen to me.

This is how I would rank my current dvd-writers:

1) Optiarc 5170: Very fast reader and burner and very good quality burns.

2) LG H10N: Very fast burner and very good quality burns on most discs.

3) NEC ND-3550 and ND-3551: Fast readers and very good quality burns on MCC and Taiyo Yuden discs

4) LG GSA-4160: Slow but extremely good at reading bad discs. Average burn quality.

5) LG H20L: Slow and average burn quality

6) Aopen DUW1608/ARR: Low quality burns on many discs but very good at reading bad discs.

7) Pioneer 110D: Noisy and low burn quality on many discs. Not a very good reader.

[how786]

Thanks SO much for all these detail Erbuk. (I've no idea what bitsetting and Mt. Ranier are so I guess I don't need/use them.)
Where is a good place to buy the Optiarc and could you explain what NEC and SONY have to do with Optiarc? Their names popped up a lot when I Googled the drive.
BTW, what are you using to test the CDs? This is an area I'd like to learn more about. Right now I use Plextools Pro and only run the Q-check C1/C2 on CDs that I burn. It's the only test I vaguely comprehend. <S>
Your help is invaluable.
Thank you,
How786

[erbuk]

Well, Optiarc is a joint venture of Sony and Nec. It looks like
there will be no more Sony or Nec writers, all their new models
will be Optiarc. You can find a little more about it in this
CDfreaks Review

The front of the 5170 looks exactly like the old Nec drives but
it identifies itself as an Optiarc 5170 in windows and it says
Sony Nec Optiarc Inc on the label.

This is a very new thing, I first saw it a week ago (and ordered one
right away). But most of the larger computer stores here in Sweden
have them in stock now so I should think they will be available in
most places within a few weeks.

I'm using Nero CD/DVD speed to test the discs. It's not easy to
interpret the tests in detail but it's still quite easy to tell the
difference between a good and a bad burn/disc on the number
of read errors it reports. And it also gives you a quality score
that can make it easier to interpret the result.

[how786]

Thanks for this great info and the review. They reviewed the Optiarc AD-7173A. Where can I find it? I see no Optiarc products on Ebay or on a PreceGrabber search.
Also, where can I get the Nero tester?

How786

[erbuk]

I just changed my post regarding where to buy them (missed that at first). You probably just need to wait a week or so if you can't find it yet.

The nero tester is included in the Nero burning rom package. You can download a fully functional evaluation copy from Nero

[erbuk]

B t w, I should add that the computer stores still sell them as Nec or Sony drives. So you should also do a serach for Sony AD-7173 and Nec AD-7173.

There are free alternatives to the nero tester b t w but since I already had a nero licence it felt like the best thing for me. You need a drive that is capable of disc quality scanning to do the test. I think most newer drives are but not the LG H10/H20.

[how786]

I just changed my post regarding where to buy them (missed that at first). You probably just need to wait a week or so if you can't find it yet.

The nero tester is included in the Nero burning rom package. You can download a fully functional evaluation copy from Nero

Thank you. I currently have a license for Nero but it is for an older version: 5.xxx
I remember looking at a newer version of Nero and being discouraged that it was taken over by Roxio? Is my memory correct? I do NOT like Roxio and the interface I remember was awful.
I hope this memory is incorrect.
Thanks for your help
How786

[how786]

B t w, I should add that the computer stores still sell them as Nec or Sony drives. So you should also do a serach for Sony AD-7173 and Nec AD-7173.

There are free alternatives to the nero tester b t w but since I already had a nero licence it felt like the best thing for me. You need a drive that is capable of disc quality scanning to do the test. I think most newer drives are but not the LG H10/H20.

None of these drives seem available in the US or on Ebay. Surprising. I wonder why.

How786

[how786]

B t w, I should add that the computer stores still sell them as Nec or Sony drives. So you should also do a serach for Sony AD-7173 and Nec AD-7173.

There are free alternatives to the nero tester b t w but since I already had a nero licence it felt like the best thing for me. You need a drive that is capable of disc quality scanning to do the test. I think most newer drives are but not the LG H10/H20.

There is a bunch of stuff there. Is it Nero 7 that I want or Nero 7 Digital?
I'm unclear.
Thank you
How786

[erbuk]

Back in the old days (that's a year ago in this business ) they always seemed to release them on the us market first. But I have seen this happen allot lately. Maybe it has to do with licenses, patents, environmental & safety regulations and other bureaucracy that makes it harder to export to the US today. Or maybe it's just a coincidence...

It's the Nero 7 package you need. Link

[how786]

Back in the old days (that's a year ago in this business ) they always seemed to release them on the us market first. But I have seen this happen allot lately. Maybe it has to do with licenses, patents, environmental & safety regulations and other bureaucracy that makes it harder to export to the US today. Or maybe it's just a coincidence...

It's the Nero 7 package you need. Link

Thanks. Which of the many programs in the DL should I install? There seem to be many there that I'd never use. I hope I can do a selective install.

Appreciate your help
How786

[erbuk]

Yes, unfortunately the package has grown allot lately. I have always done a full install but I'm sure there is an "advanced" option where you can select the apps you need. This program is called "Nero CD-DVD Speed" but it's just a small utility program so maybe it's not selectable...

[erbuk]

Hmm... seems like this forum automatially generated a link to where you can download this app separately Just click the program name.

[how786]

Now, I am really baffled. I downloaded NeroSpeed Nero found ZERO errors on that Mitsui Gold CD. Gave it a rating of 100%.
I again ran Plextools and it found an average of 0.9/sec C1 errors (total was 2820) and an average of 0 C2 errors per sec but there were a total of 63 C2 errors. Once again, I've never before seen any C2 errors from the Yamaha. Both times I tested the Plextor 716A I got some C2 errors.
The Nero findings really puzzle me........
How does one interpret the disparity?
How786

[erbuk]

Maybe a compatibility issue with the drive. I have only used it with nec and lite-on.

[LDinOR]

My NEC ND-3550A so far has given me no problems at all. It's a fast, accurate and low cost drive, I have seen them going for as little as 29 dollars US.

[Wira]

I just bought LG external DVD writer GSA-E10N. Is it a good one?

[lordsmurf]

I just bought LG external DVD writer GSA-E10N. Is it a good one?

Yes. Should be.

[how786]

I still cannot find an Optiarc AD-7173 anywhere for sale.
Hmmmmmmm..........
How786